Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for planting gardens. More specifically, the present invention relates to devices adapted to create a plurality of evenly spaced depressions in the soil suitable for planting either seeds or seedlings.
Gardening is a discipline that requires a high degree of precision to execute perfectly, yet it can often be exceedingly difficult to perfect the technique with the array of gardening products currently available on the market. The growth of seeds or seedlings can be affected by whether they are planted too closely together, too far apart, too deep, or too shallow. However, controlling these factors can be difficult to do when one is merely digging holes by hand with a trowel, as many gardeners do. Even if the growth of the seeds or seedlings is relatively unaffected by their placement within the soil, a haphazardly organized garden bed will not make efficient use of the space and will unnecessarily limit the number of plants that the gardener can plant at a given time. Therefore there is a strong need for a product that will allow users to efficiently plant their seeds, seedlings, or plants in organized rows to maximize the use of space, while simultaneously ensuring that each plant of a given type is planted at the correct depth to maximize its growth potential.
Current devices available in the marketplace attempt to address these problems in a variety of ways. Most planting devices designed to plant seeds or seedlings at the correct depth and space away from each other consist of a handle portion and a portion having a plurality of spaced protrusions. Users push the protrusions into the soil, which creates a plurality of spaced recesses suitable for planting seeds or seedlings therein. While these types of devices adequately plant that particular set of seeds or seedlings, it does not solve the issue of creating an overall organized garden because the user then has to guess where to create the next set of recesses. Furthermore, the depth of the recesses is not easily controllable, which may be a substantial issue for some types of plants. Other types of depth and spacing tools have generally similar configurations, but instead have a plurality of pegs or protrusions disposed on the face of a generally planar surface that is placed peg-side down into the soil. These types of devices can simultaneously create a large number of planting recesses aligned in a plurality of rows; however, they still lack the ability to efficiently and easily control the depth of the depressions. Such devices also generally have a single layout, and thus can only plant gardens with a single configuration, which can be very problematic for plants that need varying amount of space between them for ideal growth.
The present invention pertains to a novel means for ensuring that seeds or seedlings are planted at the correct depth and correctly spaced away from each other. The present invention ensures that users' gardens will be organized in an efficient and space-conscious manner, allowing the users to maximize the number of plants that they can fit within a given area. Furthermore, the grid design of the present invention allows users to quickly and easily plant multiple rows at once to guarantee that seeds or seedlings are not only spaced correctly in relation to other plants in their row, but are simultaneously spaced correctly in relation to all of the other rows. Embodiments using the dibble also allow users to customize the depth at which their seeds or seedlings are planted in a reliable manner because the dibble has a plurality of measuring lines disposed that give an optical indication to the user when a particular depth is reached.
Description of the Prior Art
Devices have been disclosed in the prior art that relate to ground aerators or seed planting devices. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application publications. These devices generally relate to pegs attached to some type of support structure for placing holes within the ground. The following is a list of devices deemed most relevant to the present disclosure, which are herein described for the purposes of highlighting and differentiating the unique aspects of the present invention, and further highlighting the drawbacks existing in the prior art.
One such device is U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,471 to Ramsey, which discloses a lawn aerator having a plurality of posts disposed at the end of an elongated pole. The user aerates the ground by pressing the posts of the device into the ground, moving the device side-to-side slightly, and then withdrawing the posts from the ground. The device thereby creates holes in the ground for the purposes of increasing oxygen flow. The present invention instead uses a hand-held dibble to punch holes in the ground and further has a box portion that is adapted to assist in the even distribution of seeds or seedlings. Although both inventions are designed to punch holes into the ground, Ramsey comprises a plurality of posts disposed at the end of an elongated handle portion, whereas the present invention comprises a plurality of posts or apertures disposed across a planar base member.
Another such device is U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,034 to Howell, which discloses a tool for making a plurality of evenly-spaced depressions in the soil for planting seeds therein. Howell consists of a plurality of rods with a plurality of evenly spaced, threadably attached nipples disposed thereon. The user can extend the threaded nipple portions in order to push them into the dirt, creating a depression suitable for planting a seed within. Unlike Howell, the present seed spacing and planting device can create holes of adjustable size and depth via the dibble and the differently sized planting apertures through the base portion. The present invention also comes in embodiments having apertures through which a dibble is pushed to create depressions in the soil, in addition to embodiments having integral pegs.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,241 to Finley discloses an adjustable garden planting depth and spacing tool comprising a base having a plurality of holes through which a series of pegs can be inserted. The base can be placed against the ground, pressing the pegs into the soil and creating a plurality of spaced depressions suitable for planting seeds therein. Unlike Finley, the present invention comprises a plurality of spaced apertures of different sizes through which a dibble may be inserted in order to create the planting depressions.
Another such device is U.S. Pat. No. 6,662,736 to Lowe, which discloses a device for planting seeds having a plurality of tines, a plunger, and a seed container. When the tines are pressed into the ground, the plunger is pushed upwards into the seed container, which allows seed to fall to the distribution plate. When the device is picked up from the ground, the seeds then fall off of the distribution plate onto the ground below the plate and into the depressions created by the tines. The present invention has a similar goal in allowing for the quick and easy planting of a large number of seeds, but the present invention does not have a means for automatically distributing seeds in the holes created by its pegs or dibble. Furthermore, Lowe is designed such that the tines are arranged in a circular fashion around the perimeter of a plate, which is not ideal when users wish to create a plurality of evenly spaced straight rows. The present invention consists of either apertures or pegs that are aligned in a rectangular fashion such that they are evenly spaced in both the horizontal and vertical directions, making it extremely easy to create an organized garden that uses space efficiently.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 8,056,646 to Broadstone discloses a planting tool comprising an elongated rigid portion having a handle at one end and a plurality of projections at the opposing end. The user creates holes for planting garden plants by gripping the handle and then plunging the projections into the ground, creating depressions into which garden plants may be planted. Broadstone does not disclose a plurality of projections arranged in evenly spaced rows, thus it would be difficult to use the Broadstone device to create more than a single row of spaced depressions suitable for planting plants. The present invention has a plurality of spaced rows in both the horizontal and vertical directions, ensuring that an entire garden bed can quickly and easily be prepared for planting in an evenly spaced rectangular fashion.
The present invention provides a planting device that allows users to quickly and easily plant their seeds or seedlings in organized, neat rows that maximize the plants' growth potential. The present invention comprises a base portion having either a plurality of pegs supported thereon or a plurality of apertures extending therethrough and beveled sidewalls around the perimeter of the base. The base may further have removable planar portions having apertures of different sizes. The user need only take the device and place it on the garden plot, with the planting face oriented towards the soil. The pegs or apertures are aligned in an evenly spaced configuration suitable for planting either seeds or seedlings. For embodiments having pegs, the pegs automatically create the planting depressions, and for embodiments having apertures, the user uses an additional dibble tool to create the planting depressions at the desired depth. It substantially diverges in design elements from the prior art and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing garden spacing and depth-setting planting devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.